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Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks? is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on where each punctuation mark goes around a quotation in US style, aligned to Common Core standard L.5.2. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 22 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

L.5.2

NameDate

Circle the right answer.

1.Grandma's words are Where are my keys, and "asked Grandma" comes after them. What goes after keys?
  • A.A question mark after Grandma
  • B.A comma inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.A question mark inside the closing quotation mark
2.In Lena whispered, "The baby is asleep," which mark comes straight after whispered?
  • A.No mark at all
  • B.A comma
  • C.A period
3.Ben asked, "Is it raining" — Ben's words are the question. Where does the question mark go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.After the word asked
4.The words "Look out" are followed by "shouted Sam" and the sentence ends. What goes after Sam?
  • A.A period
  • B.A comma
  • C.An exclamation point
5.In "After lunch," said Mrs. Park, "we will start," why does we begin with a small letter?
  • A.It is not a name
  • B.Quotations never begin with a capital
  • C.The second part carries on the same sentence
6.Did the coach say "two more laps" — the whole sentence is a question, but the coach's words are not. Where does the question mark go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Before the opening quotation mark
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
7.In US style, where do a comma and a period go when they meet a closing quotation mark?
  • A.Always outside it
  • B.Inside only if the quotation is a question
  • C.Always inside it
8.Two characters are talking. What does the writer do each time a different character starts to speak?
  • A.Use smaller quotation marks
  • B.Leave out the quotation marks
  • C.Start a new paragraph

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 22. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.A question mark inside the closing quotation mark
  2. 2.A comma
  3. 3.Inside the closing quotation mark
  4. 4.A period
  5. 5.The second part carries on the same sentence
  6. 6.Outside the closing quotation mark
  7. 7.Always inside it
  8. 8.Start a new paragraph

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to L.5.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.